Southland Tales (2006)

Director:

Richard Kelly

Writer (WGA):

Richard Kelly (written by)

Release Date:

7 December 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Have A Nice Apocalypse

Plot:

Southland Tales is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008...

Plot Keywords:

Dream Sequence | Drug Induced | Narrator | Bookstore | Messiah

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Carlos Amezcua	...	Himself
Curtis Armstrong	...	Dr. Soberin Exx
Robert Benz	...	Bergie Taverner
Todd Berger	...	Bing Zinneman
Joe Campana	...	Brandt Huntington
Chris Andrew Ciulla	...	UPU 4 Officer (as Chris Ciulla)
Rebekah Del Rio	...	Herself
Aaron Dillar	...	Jimmy Hermosa
Nora Dunn	...	Cyndi Pinziki
Shari Dunn	...	Reporter
Michele Durrett	...	Starla Von Luft
Jon Falcone	...	Soldier Falcon
Leila Feinstein	...	Herself
Jaret Gardiner	...	Shane Laverne
Janeane Garofalo	...	General Teena MacArthur

Also Known As:

Southland Tales (Germany) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence, sexual material and some drug content.

Runtime:

145 min | Argentina:160 min | France:160 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

Germany | USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | USA:R | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | South Korea:15 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Hermosa Beach, California, USA

Company:

Cherry Road Films

Trivia:

The police cruisers in the film have a Latin quote "oderint dum metuant" inscribed on them. It was a famous saying of Roman emperor Caligula: "Let them hate so long as they fear."

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene when they are stealing the ATM the tires on the SUV change from both spinning, to only the right one spinning, and then back to both spinning.

Quotes:

Vaughn Smallhouse: Are you Deep Throat 2?
Krysta Now: Oh, I'm not in that movie.

Movie Connections:

References Donnie Darko (2001)

Soundtrack:

Snowball

Tales from Cannes

Now, this film has some definite problems, but it receives a 10 in my book for the director's insistence on trying something different. This film certainly doesn't offer a story that fits the A,B,C, plot mold of standard Hollywood pictures and it lacks slightly in characterization, but makes up for it with idea's, experimental style, and a "european" view of the current climate of the United States of America (now matter what your politics).

As an American viewer currently in France, I'm astounded that there are not more critics praising this feature. I understand the casting choices are odd, but after hearing Richard Kelly speak of the film as a "puzzle" it seems to make more and more sense as I replay the anarchic gonzo like images in my head.

This film is not about the characters, but the situation in which the characters inhabit. It's an experience. I mean do any of us actually "care" about David Bowman in 2001? Yes, the oddities in the film grow astoundingly quirky (bowel movement thermonuclear baby) but see this film simply to experience something new and to insure more films that don't fit the mold are made. I mean that's why we see Jarmusch pictures, right?